Granite City woman dies of neglect at nursing home, lawsuit says

A Granite City nursing home let a 76-year-old woman sit in her own feces and urine and develop pressure sores on her body, a federal lawsuit alleges.

The estate of Gail Marie Legate sued the Granite Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Sept. 21, alleging the neglect and wrongful death of Legate, who had paraplegia from a recent injury, diabetes, Crohn’s disease and was mostly incontinent. Legate died Feb. 17, 2016, according to her obituary.

Granite Nursing and Rehabilitation Center declined comment Wednesday.

Because of her injuries, Legate was more susceptible to pressure sores, the lawsuit states, and the nursing home failed to provide an adequate care plan.

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“They failed to provide Gail Marie Legate with the necessary care and services to attain and maintain the highest practicable physical and mental well-being,” according to the lawsuit.

The nursing home did not give Legate a catheter, they didn’t clean her in time and forced her to sit in her own waste, the lawsuit claims, and it also says staffers gave her dairy, even though she was lactose intolerant.

At the time of her death, Legate had sepsis, recurrent infections, pressure sores, skin breakdown, malnutrition, dehydration and was in renal failure, the lawsuit says.

A photo accompanying her obituary shows Legate in the later years of her life.

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